Team-BHP - Scoop: Honda Civic spotted testing in India! Edit: Launched @ 17.69 lakhs

2019 Honda Civic sedan spied in India for first time – Launch soon

https://youtu.be/ulnZmhSxyT8

Quote:

Honda is set to launch the tenth gen Civic in India by April 2019.

Honda had showcased the pre facelift version of 10th gen Civic at the 2018 Auto Expo earlier this year. The car has now received a facelift, which will be launched in India early next year. Ahead of that, the car has been spied on test in Indian roads for the first time.

2019 Honda Civic looks sportier than its outgoing model. It gets refreshed exteriors and interiors and petrol and diesel engine options. Exteriors will be seen with a new front fascia with a grille finished in piano black. It will sport LED headlamps with LED DRLs and chrome accents around the fog lamp housing.

The front end of the Honda Civic is given a new look with an angular bumper design. The side profile sports a new shoulder line which starts at the headlamps and integrates into the tail lamps. New alloy wheels and a host of chrome accents are also a part of its makeover.

Interiors of the 2019 Honda Civic gets updated technology and new safety features. It is seen with a 7” touchscreen infotainment system supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also receives wireless charging system, a sunroof, rear AC vents and front and rear passenger arm rests. In terms of safety, the new Honda Civic facelift will be seen with cruise control, 6 air bags, ABS, EBD, collision warning, mitigation system along with automatic braking, lane departure warning and lane keep assist.

The 1.8 liter i-VTEC petrol engine will deliver 141 bhp power and 174 Nm torque while the 1.6 liter i-DTEC diesel engine will be capable of 118 bhp power and 300 Nm torque mated to 6 speed manual or 9 speed auto gearbox.

One can expect to see the 2019 Honda Civic in India by April 2019. Once launched, it will compete with the likes of Toyota Corolla, Skoda Octavia and Hyundai Elantra. No exact pricing details have been revealed, but considering its competition, prices between Rs 18-24 lakhs is what one can expect. The Hyundai Elantra is currently priced from Rs 13.69 lakhs.

Source

Indian Auto Blog

This car has so much potential in India, but again Honda should price it as competitively as possible. The engine specs look pretty decent when in comparison with the elantra(Civic petrol- 141bhp/174nm, diesel- 118bhp/300nn & Elantra petrol- 150bhp/192nm, diesel- 126bhp/249nm).

But if prices starts at 18L it's going to be difficult to slice into Octavia's market with Octavia 1.4tsi ambition ex showroom priced at 16L and the 1.4 TSI makes 148bhp/250nm.

Hopefully if the civic is a success they bring out the Type-R to compete with the vRS.

This car does have potential, but Honda themselves will price it above competition. Expect some unique features while some standard features available in rivals might be given a miss.

Also, there won't be Diesel AT in this, and last but not the least, this car will be making Elantra VFM just like Jazz did to i20 and BRV did to Creta.

I don't have any hopes of this becoming a blockbuster.

Honda you are spoiling your products, you'll have to rethink.

As an ex-Civic owner, this news made my day! Not going to be easy for the car though:

1. Going by the ludicrous pricing of the CR-V & Accord, Honda thinks it has become "Mercedes". If they are going to overprice this, I would recommend them saving the effort & sending the Civic back where it came from.

2. After the Civic was discontinued, the City was moved up by half a segment. The top-variant of the City costs 17 lakhs on the road in Bombay. That makes you wonder about how expensive the Civic will be.

3. The D1 sedan segment itself has crashed, all thanks to the SUVs & Crossovers. Even segment champions like the Corolla & Octavia do just 200 - 300 cars a month. There was a time when the Corolla used to do 1000 cars / month.

I hope Honda pleasantly surprises us with the pricing, but I'm not holding my breath for the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4503998)

As an ex-Civic owner, this news made my day! Not going to be easy for the car though:

...

2. After the Civic was discontinued, the City was moved up by half a segment. The top-variant of the City costs 17 lakhs on the road in Bombay. That makes you wonder about how expensive the Civic will be.

Ideally, the base model of the Civic should retail at around the OTR of the City ZX CVT (i.e. around 17 lakh), or at a maximum premium of about a lakh - considering that the base model of the City costs approximately a lakh more than the top of the line Amaze. But if the ex-showroom prices of the Civic are to start from 18 lakh, it may not see much traction, and this will be a big opportunity miss for Honda.

This is where the Elantra's pricing looks so sweet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy (Post 4504010)

However what Honda should have prioritised is the launch of HR-V. Is Honda blind to the fact that Creta is selling 10000+ every month, without a proper competition? Why are they bothered about 150+ when they can easily sell 5000+ with HR-V?

OT: According to Honda, Creta's rival in their portfolio is the BR-V :). And it is already terribly overpriced for what it has to offer, especially if you consider the prices of the new Ertiga (Which it should have taken on in the first place).

So even if Honda launches the HR-V in India, it will be in the 18-30L OTR range - which is the gap between the BR-V and the CR-V. And at that price point, it will not have many takers again.

Ideally, Honda should reduce the prices of the BR-V and slowly discontinue it within a few months, so that the HR-V can have a lower price point to start from if it has to succeed in India.

I find it laughable that Civic which is sold at $2,500 premium (approx. 16%) out here over Honda Fit that is sold as Honda Jazz in India should be sold at over 200% premium over Jazz’s price in India.

I understand that duty structures are complex in India and are probably driven by the engine/body size & some other unfathomable criteria but this disparity in pricing is absolutely ridiculous and is partly driven by greed to milk the Civic brand however Honda must understand that amount of premium that they can charge for their so-called “Brand Equity” can only take them so far and unless there is some semblance left of the price/value equation, the potential buyer will not oblige for he/she now has much wider bouquet of pickings to chose from.

I had the pleasure to own a brand new Civic back in 2008 and it was a pleasure to drive with practically zero maintenance. I started disliking the design iterations that came out after 2012 and have not reconciled with the latest design as well however when I was looking for a car for my daughter a few months ago I looked at a few popular models such as Corolla, Elantra, Sentra etc. but quickly came to realize that there is no substitute for the bulletproof reliability of the trusted 1.8 ltr. engine coupled with spirited driving dynamics. It is a car that will forever remain close to my heart.

I wish Honda India can price an entry level manual Civic with the 1.8 ltr. gasoline engine for Rs. 13 to 14 lakhs (Ex-showroom) so that it can mobilize some reasonable sales (800 to 1000 units a month) failing which it will go the same way as the Accord which is a sales dud.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya (Post 4504081)

The problem is unlike USA, Honda had Amaze and City as sedan offerings between Jazz & Civic in India.

Originally Civic was a subcompact (USA standard) car, and now it has grown to compact (USA standard) size.

The City has also grown, and I may say that equipment and size wise, new City is the old Civic in India.

Price wise, they have jacked up prices of Jazz & City so much that now it is impossible to introduce a sanely priced Civic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4503998)

Not sure as an ex-user of Civic you yearn for it or not, petrol-heads would be hoping for 1.5 iVTEC Turbo on this one. It was ages ago that Honda used to be the king of petrol engines, the game has since mover to turbos big time, and Honda is now a laggard.

Bring in the turbo petrol for the enthusiast, and the diesel it never had; price the car competitively, and then we're talking. At least this car is worthy of the Civic nameplate - the last gen one (which was never sold in India) was a disaster. Honda knows that too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4503998)

1. Going by the ludicrous pricing of the CR-V & Accord, Honda thinks it has become "Mercedes". If they are going to overprice this, I would recommend them saving the effort & sending the Civic back where it came from.

+1 ,
Honda needs to avoid getting dangerously close to the Luxury segment. After all in present Indian market , if you stretch a buyer to the 25-30 lakh mark for a mid-segment Sedan, that class of buyer might just as well stretch some more and fulfill his Dream of buying a Luxury Segment Audi, BMW or Merc.
There dries up all your sales.